Who are the highest-paid F1 drivers in the world?

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen come out on top of the 20-driver grid

Wednesday 09 March 2022 16:00 GMT

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are competing for the world championship this season (Getty Images)

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The 2022 F1 season will soon be underway after one of the most thrilling title races in recent memory last campaign. Max Verstappen become Formula One’s newest champion as the 24-year-old overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Red Bull driver will be out to defend his championship this year.

Hamilton confirmed his return to Mercedes after weeks of silence following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which fuelled rumours he was set to walk away from the sport due to the controversial end to the season, but the 37-year-old is back as he looks to bid for a record-breaking eighth title.

It comes amid the biggest overhaul in sporting rules and regulations in recent memory, with teams given a blank slate to prepare their cars for this year’s campaign in an attempt to level the playing field and increase overtaking opportunities. It is sure to lead to another unpredictable campaign, with a number of driver changes also thrown into the mix - as George Russell joins Hamilton at Mercedes and Valtteri Bottas drops down to Alfa Romeo.

Verstappen’s first title of his career was followed by Red Bull rewarding the Dutchman with a new long-term contract, that has seen him join Hamilton at the top of the drivers salary charts.

While drivers salaries are not released into the public domain by teams, the figures reported in the media is widely used to determine how much the 20 drivers are being paid by their respective teams this season - although that does not include performance-related bonuses or other commercial add-ons.